Black Barn Farm Kitchen & Deli | Brunch, Dinner, Catering & Venue in Jacksonville OR — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We visited for the first time, and we discovered fine print at the bottom of the menu: a mandatory 20% “gratuity” added to our bill. That was a shock, and it colored the rest of our experience.

We normally tip 18–20% anyway, but tipping should be our decision based on service—not a hidden, mandatory surcharge. Calling it a “gratuity” when it’s actually a required fee is misleading and underhanded.

I can already anticipate the owner’s response: “We care about giving our staff a living wage.” That sounds noble, but I’ve worked as a server myself, and I know exactly what servers earn—often $30–$50 an hour when tips are factored in. If management wants to guarantee that level of pay, fine, but be honest about it; raise menu prices to reflect true costs instead of disguising them in the fine print.

We weren't fooled by this pricing trick. It feels like cheating, and it erodes trust. If you want to reward staff with commission, build it transparently into menu prices. Don’t hide behind the word “gratuity.”

This was our first visit, and it will be our last. Businesses that want to survive need to respect their customers enough to be upfront about their...

We had a grand time! I’d been wanting to try this place since I met the owner a while ago at Cherry Street Meats in Medford. We finally had time to check it out; I had high expectations and they were exceeded all the way. Service A+, food quality the same. The atmosphere is great it’s like it was before with a few changes which is cool.

We ordered a variety of things to share, appetizers, salad and a main. We chose the “special of the day” which was the Philly Cheese on their homemade roll. They’ll be opening a deli soon and are presenting various sandwiches as the daily specials. Everything was delicious and served fresh from the kitchen. The owner is super nice and we can’t wait to return for another meal.

Last note, I had looked up the hours, brunch from 10:00-2:00 on the weekends and dinner from 3:00-9:00. We showed up about 2:40 as I didn’t understand they take a (food prep) break from 2:00-3:00. However, they were happy to accommodate and sat us in the bar, we grabbed a couple nice beers and the food arrived promptly. I highly recommend checking out this...

Amazing! I was not expecting the awesomeness we found here! I think this is a renovated old schoolhouse and it retains all the brick and exposed beams charm you’d expect. We came on a Thursday at prime dinner time with no reservation and were seated promptly at a nice table in the bar area. The bartender Harry is a true gem and a bartending professional; we had a Manhattan and a Paloma, Harry was enthusiastic and clearly passionate about mixology! For food we had the Cajun prawns and the ribeye dinner. Everything was phenomenal. My husband was just in Louisiana and commented that this was better Cajun than anything he had there. The presentation was unique and the remoulade had a bit of kick which matched the prawns perfectly. The steak was outstanding, was perfectly cooked, tender and flavorful. Served with little baby potatoes and some Brussels sprouts as well as grilled corn on the cob rounds. Each side didn’t feel like an afterthought but it seemed had been added with intention and planning. This was the star after a week long trip in the area. 5 stars...